Upcoming Events

Comparative Theology beyond Religionization

Scholars often distinguish between old and new comparative theology. The former tends (a) to affirm Christian superiority (b) while disregarding the self-understanding of other traditions. Such comparison (c) knows in advance what insights (truths) it will find. Thus, ‘old’ comparative theology involves a twofold process of selfing (constructing Christian identity) and othering (constructing alterity). Christianity’s others become the counter-image of normative Christianity. The aim of ‘new’ comparative theology is to undo and overcome some of the problems of the old by studying other traditions in-depth and engaging them as theological conversation partners. This presentation suggests new terminology for describing how Christians have historically sought to “map the world” of religious diversity. I suggest religionization as a concept-term for imagining how Christians have projected deficient religion onto others, while claiming true, good, and proper religion for themselves. The term religionization highlights the sense of process, the coming-into-being that underlies the perception of religious difference. Furthermore, this term better captures how Christians have imagined the world and its people not simply as a theological endeavor, but as a profoundly political one, i.e. as something related to how gain or keep power or advantage. My suggestion is also a call for new comparative theology that is more relational. The move towards this begins with attending to past and present processes of religionization.

Reading the Story of the Queen of Sheba in the Qur’an from a Gender-sensitive Perspective

The story of the Queen of Sheba has proved interesting to study from an interreligious framework, especially when comparing Jewish and Muslim perspectives. Gender also proffers a valuable lens: several studies have focused on negative portrayals of the Queen of Sheba’s hairy legs or demonic nature (Rees 2022; Stinchcomb 2022). What has not been attempted is an Islamic-theological analysis that seeks a gender-sensitive reading of the Qur’anic story compared to its possible intertexts. Therefore, this talk will focus on the Qur’anic story of the Queen of Sheba and particularly on how the Qur’an plays with gender roles, identifying three germane themes of the early Islamic version of this story.

Organized by Caroline Bridel and Maureen Attali

Historical and anthropological studies often point out what they consider to be ritual similarities between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The study of both literary and material data suggests that many of those rituals originated from or developed upon practices performed by all inhabitants of the Roman and/or Sassanian empires. This workshop proposes to investigate the formation processes and early development and contexts of so-called Abrahamic rituals through the notion of religious co-production.

Click this link for the Call for Papers. Proposals are due by July 15, 2024.

Organized by Mercedes García-Arenal, Katharina Heyden, David Nirenberg, and Davide Scotto

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are often understood as an ensemble of three (‘Abrahamic,’ ‘monotheistic,’ scriptural, or prophetic) religious communities and traditions. But often when adherents of two of these “sibling” religions interact, the third is treated as a figure to be marginalized, stigmatized, or instrumentally exploited vis-à-vis the others. This conference proposes to explore this dynamic of the excluded third.

Click this link for the Call for Papers. Proposals are due by June 1, 2024.